Who will rise for me against evildoers, who will take a stand for me against the wrongdoers? Psalm 94:16 Robert Alter For me – Be sure you read this verse as it is written, not as you might expect it to be written. What I mean is that we might expect “Who will rise…
Then God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” Genesis 1:6 NASB Separate – “In the act of creation, there is perhaps inevitable sadness, as the work works itself loose from the vision.”[1] The Egyptians believed in unity, that is, the absolute unity…
I lie awake, I have become like a solitary bird on a housetop. Psalm 102:7 NASB Solitary – From the kitchen window of our home in Parma, we look out on the roof of the condominium next door. Nearly every day a pigeon flies to the corner of that roof and sits. I assume it is…
I did not sit in the gathering of revelers to make merry. Because of Your hand, alone I sat, for with wrath You filled me.Jeremiah 15:17 Robert Alter Alone – Brené Brown convincingly argues that being human means being connected. The greatest punishment a man can feel is isolation: “ . . . the most terrifying…
Then the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” Genesis 3:9 NASB Where – Man was created to be useful. In fact, he was assigned an indispensable role on the earth—to steward it on God’s behalf. “Then the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it…
Then Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. Genesis 32:24 NASB Left alone – I just can’t get past Jacob. Maybe it’s because years ago when the financial collapse happened that started this written journey of recovery, I was tempted to think I was kind of like Job. You know, innocent. Not deserving the…
“They wandered in the wilderness in a desert region” Psalm 107:4 NASB Desert Region– For most of us, the idea of wilderness recalls pictures of the Arizona desert or the Sahara or the Northern Territories. We think of wilderness as a place where men cannot live. But what we really mean is that men cannot…
And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. Genesis 1:4 NASB Separated– Great thinkers struggle with great problems. Not surprisingly, great thinkers often struggle with the same great problems because the really great problems have been the same for Man in all the ages. So when you read astute, insightful thoughts…
Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted. Psalm 25:16 NASB Lonely – Look up this verse in Hebrew and you will immediately be surprised. The word translated “lonely” is yāḥîd. It means “only,” as in “only begotten son.” Its root is yāḥad, a verb that means, “to be united,…
Then Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. Genesis 32:24 NASB Left alone – “When you know the story to which you belong, and when you know your role in that story, you have a profound sense of purpose. That is what we are invited into: God’s ongoing work in…
